Caves of Kitava and Tuma, Trobriand Islands, 1971, Ollier C. D. , Holdsworth D. K. , Heers G.

The Trobriand group of coral islands is situated a hundred miles off the north-east coast of Papua and north of the D 'Entr'ecasteaux Islands. In previous papers we have described caves on Kiriwina (the main island), Vakuta and Kitava (see References). We now describe caves of Kaileuna and Tuma (see Figures l and 2). In August 1970, we spent one week of intensive search for caves on these two islands, making our headquarters in the copra store in the village of Kadawaga. Kaileuna island is six miles long and almost four miles wide, and supports a population of 1,079 (1969 Census). It is separated from the large island of Kiriwina by a channel two miles wide between Mamamada Point and Boll Point, though the main village of Kadawaga on the west coast of Kaileuna is 18 miles from Losuia and 14 miles from Kaibola. The island is generally swampy in the centre with a rim of uplifted coral around the edge. We were assured that the correct name of the island is Laileula, but since Kaileuna is used on all previous maps it is retained here. However, we prefer Kadawaga to the Kudawaga or Kaduwaga that appear on some maps. The inhabitants are of mixed Melanesian-Polynesian Stock, who are almost totally self-supporting, being in the main farmers and fishermen. The yam (taitu) constitutes the staple crop and the harvest is still gathered in with ceremonies unchanged for centuries. There is great competition among families for the quantity and quality of the crop, which is displayed firstly in garden arbours (kalimonio), later in the village outside the houses; traditionally styled yam huts (bwaima) are then constructed to display the harvest until the next season. The transfer of yams from the garden to the village is occasion for a long procession of gatherers to parade through the village blowing conch shells and chanting traditional airs (sawili) to attract the attention of villagers to the harvesting party, After storage of the harvest, a period of dancing and feasting (milamala) continues for a month or more, Traditional clothing is the rule, Women and girls wear fibre skirts (doba), most of the men, especially the older ones, wear a pubic leaf (vivia) made from the sepal of the betel nut palm flower (Areca catechu Linn.). Tuma, the northernmost of the main islands in the Trobriand group, is six miles long and less than a mile wide. It is a low ridge of coral with swamps in the centre and along much of the western side. The island has been uninhabited since 1963 when the last few residents abandoned it and moved to Kiriwina, but it is still visited from time to time by other islanders who collect copra and fish. Tuma is believed by all Trobriand Islanders to be inhabited now by the spirits of the dead. It is also generally believed that Tuma is the original home of the TrobIiand ancestors; these ancestors are also said to have emerged at Labai Cave on Kiriwina Island, and from many other places of emergence or 'bwala". Lack of consistency in the legends does not appear to concern the Trobrianders very much. The cave maps in this paper are sketches based mainly on estimated dimensions, with a few actual measurements and compass bearings. Bwabwatu was surveyed more accurately, using a 100 ft steel reinforced tape and prismatic compass throughout.

Karst Geomorphology of the Bruce Peninsula, Ontario, PhD Thesis, 1976, Cowell, Daryl William

This is the first detailed examination of the karst geomorphology of the Bruce Peninsula. It attempts to review all aspects including pavement phenomena and formation (microkarst features), surface and subsurface karst hydrology (meso to macro scale) and water chemistry. The latter is based on over 250 samples collected in 1973 and 1974.
The dolomite pavement is the best example of its kind that has been described in the literature. It covers much of the northern and eastern parts of the peninsula and can be differentiated into three types based on karren assemblages. Two of these are a product of lithology and the third reflects local environmental controls. The Amabel Formation produces characteristic karren such as rundkarren, hohlkarren, meanderkarren, clint and grike, kamentizas and rillenkarren on glacially abraded biohermal structures. The Guelph Formation develops into a very irregular, often cavernous surface with clint and grike and pitkarren as the only common recognizable karren. The third assemblage is characterized by pitkarren and is found only in the Lake Huron littoral zone. Biological factors are believed to have played a major role in the formation of the pavement. Vegetation supplies humic acids which help boost the solution process and helps to maintain a wet surface. This tends to prolong solution and permit the development of karren with rounded lips and bottoms.
Three types of drainage other than normal surface runoff are found on the Bruce. These are partial underground capture of surface streams, complete underground capture (fluvio-karst), and wholly vertical drainage without stream action (holokarst). Holokarst covers most of the northern and eastern edge of the peninsula along the top of the escarpment. Inland it is replaced by fluvial drainage, some of which has been, or is in the process of being captured. Four perennial streams and one lake disappear into sinkholes. These range from very simple channel capture and resurgence, as shown by a creek east of Wiarton, to more mature and complex cave development of the St. Edmunds cave near Tobermory. Partial underground capture represents the first stage of karst drainage. This was found to occur in one major river well inland of the fluvio-karst and probably occurs in other streams as well. This chapter also examines the possible future karst development of the Bruce and other karst feature such as isolated sinks and sea caves.
The water chemistry presented in Chapter 5 represents the most complete data set from southern Ontario. It is examined on a seasonal basis as well as grouped into classes representing water types (streams, Lake Huron and Georgian Bay, inland lakes, swamps, diffuse springs and conduit springs). The spring analyses are also fitted into climatic models of limestone solution based on data from other regions of North America. It was found that solution rates in southern Ontario are very substantial. Total hardness ranges from 150 to 250 ppm (expressed as CaCO3) in most lakes and streams and up to 326 ppm in springs. These rates compare with more southerly latitudes. The theoretical equilibrium partial pressure of CO2 was found to be the most significant chemical variable for comparing solution on different kinds of carbonates and between glaciated and non-glaciated regions. Expect for diffuse flow springs and Lake Huron, the Bruce data do not separate easily into water types using either graphical or statistical (i.e. Linear Discriminant Analysis) analyses. This is partly because of the seasonality of the data and because of the intimate contact all waters have with bedrock.

The Origin of the Kelly Hill Caves, Kangaroo Island, S.A., 1984, Hill, A. L.

The Kelly Hill caves in soft, homogenous, extremely porous dune limestone differ markedly in morphology from those in the more usual, dense, bedded limestones. Solution occurs at depth with great lateral spread through swamps overflowing into the base of the hill. Development occurs by roof breakdown as areas of solution become so large that the roof cannot support the weight; a theory of the mechanics is presented. Domes and tunnels of collapse rise above the watertable; at maturity there are isolated infalls from the surface. Water percolating down from the surface only builds secondary calcite deposits.

Mangroves, Mountains and Munching Molluscs: The Evolution of a Tropical Coastline, 1988, Kiernan, Kevin

The highly scenic Andaman coast of peninsular Thailand is locally dominated by steep limestone hills and karst towers that rise from broad alluvial plains, from mangrove swamps or from the sea. The karst terrain stretches north and west across the Malay peninsula to the Gulf of Siam. Some of the variations in the style of this karst have resulted from lithological and structural factors. However, steepening of the slopes by marine erosion at times of formerly high sea levels has probably been important to the development of the most spectacular part of this landscape. Notches and caves cut in limestone towers up to 10-15m above present sea level may represent the maximum transgression of the Last Interglacial. Morphological evidence hints that former shorelines may now lie hundreds of metres above present sea level due to diastrophic movements during the late Cainozoic. However, this evidence is equivocal and it has been argued that similar landforms in neighboring parts of Malaysia may be the result of terrestrial planation processes that operated independent of sea level during the Pleistocene glacial stages.

CAYMANITE, A CAVITY-FILLING DEPOSIT IN THE OLIGOCENE MIOCENE BLUFF FORMATION OF THE CAYMAN ISLANDS, 1992, Jones B. ,

Caymanite is a laminated, multicoloured (white, red, black) dolostone that fills or partly fills cavities in the Bluff Formation of the Cayman Islands. The first phase of caymanite formation occurred after deposition, lithification, and karsting of the Oligocene Cayman Member. The second phase of caymanite formation occurred after joints had developed in the Middle Miocene Pedro Castle Member. Caymanite deposition predated dolomitization of the Bluff Formation 2-5 Ma ago. Caymanite is formed of mudstones, wackestone, packstones, and grainstones. Allochems include foraminifera, red algae, gastropods, bivalves, and grains of microcrystalline dolostone. Sedimentary structures include planar laminations, graded bedding, mound-shaped laminations, desiccation cracks, and geopetal fabrics. Original depositional dips ranged from 0 to 60-degrees. Although caymanite originated as a limestone, dolomitization did not destroy the original sedimentary fabrics or structures. The sediments that formed caymanite were derived from shallow offshore lagoons, swamps, and possibly brackish-water ponds. Pigmentation of the red and black laminae can be related to precipitates formed of Mn, Fe, Al, Ni, Ti, P, K, Si, and Ca, which occur in the intercrystalline pores. These elements may have been derived from terra rossa, which occurs on the weathered surface of the Bluff Formation. Caymanite colours were inherited from the original limestone. Stratigraphic and sedimentologic evidence shows that sedimentation was episodic and that the sediment source changed with time. Available evidence suggests that caymanite originated from sediments transported by storms onto a highly permeable karst terrain. The water with its sediment load then drained into the subsurface through joints and fissures. The depth to which these waters penetrated was controlled by the length of the interconnected cavity system. Upon entering cavities, sedimentation was controlled by a complex set of variables

HYDROGEOCHEMISTRY OF GRAND-CAYMAN, BRITISH-WEST-INDIES - IMPLICATIONS FOR CARBONATE DIAGENETIC STUDIES, 1995, Ng K. C. , Jones B. ,

Groundwater in the dolostone aquifers of the Bluff Group (Oligocene-Miocene) on Grand Cayman is divided into fresh, lightly and highly brackish, and saline (Type I and II) zones according to chemical characteristics that were determined during a 3 year (1985-1988) monitoring program. Brackish and Type I saline waters display the greatest variation in chemical properties whereas the Type II saline water has the most stable chemical characteristics. Most groundwaters from these dolostone aquifers are thermodynamically capable of precipitating calcite and/or dolomite. The saturation indices for these minerals, however, vary through time and space even in the context of small water lens. Simple mixing of fresh and sea water cannot explain the chemistry of the water found in the joint and karst controlled dolostone aquifers of Grand Cayman. Deviation from a simple mixing model is due to variations caused by tidal fluctuation, the rate of rain water recharge, influx of Ca-rich groundwater from the surrounding limestone aquifers, influx of CO2-rich surface water from sinkholes and swamps, and water-rock interactions (dissolution and precipitation of calcite and dolomite). Sustained groundwater abstraction from a lens can significantly alter the hydrochemistry of the water lens. This suggests that hydrochemical characterization of small fresh water lenses, like those on Grand Cayman, cannot be based on spot or short-term sampling. Interpretation of such fluids in terms of calcite-dolomite precipitation and/or dissolution must be treated with caution if the data base has not been derived from long-term monitoring